Is She?
by Macho Man Randy Quaid
Summary: After taking a job at a maid cafe, Kotori finds herself loving it. But a couple of encounters with the female customers makes her feel uneasy. She begins to question herself and her own feelings. Is Kotori doomed to this life of insecurity forever? Or will she learn another lesson from Akihabara which will strengthen her and help her move forward?


Akihabara is Kotori's favorite place in the city or all of Japan. Or at least, all of Japan as she knew it; she hadn't been to every single part of Japan. But she couldn't imagine many places in Japan being much better. She couldn't put to words why exactly this was so. It would be impossible to sum it all up with one word or sentence. But if Kotori had to say why she loved the place so much, she would narrow it down to it's bustling energy. There is always what appears to be thousands and thousands of people going back and forth through those streets - people from all sorts of different backgrounds: rich, poor, students, teachers, office workers; natives and foreigners from everywhere in the world - you could find them all there, doing their best to live their lives to their utmost potential! At least that's how Kotori saw things; she believed that you could go to Akihabara no matter where you are from, and find yourself there every time. Either a part of yourself that you know and wish to develop or a part of yourself you didn't even know existed! You might go to the music shop to get the new A-RISE album for yourself and then smell some dish you never had before cooking in a restaurant window. After you get your album, you can go to that restaurant and get that dish. And it could become your new favorite food. There is always a new story in Akihabara, just waiting to be told. The story about you.

This is such a story. Kotori loved Akihabara so much naturally she sought employment there, at a maid cafe. Kotori never really thought about becoming a maid cafe girl before she saw their "Help Wanted" sign, at least not seriously. She decided to try it though, and see if it was suited for her in anyway. Sure enough she discovered that she enjoyed being the job very much, and she took pride in her work. She got to make people happy for a little while while getting paid to do so, and most of all, she got to work in Akihabara. It was a dream come true. The job also gave Kotori the opportunity to see the people who gave the district its life. It's amazing how close you can feel with people when you have to call them, "Master," every day, especially with regulars. And Kotori certainly got a fair share of those! As time passed, she eventually started to get her own following, as the "Legendary Maid Minalinsky." Kotori never quite understood the fuss, but it made her glad to know that people liked her service. She was natural at the job, some people would say...but this wasn't entirely true. Even Kotori had a few things she had to learn about being a maid waitress. This is a story about such a thing. This is the story about Kotori.

It was her second or third day on the job, and started off with a normal routine. She came in, changed, went to the kitchen to wash the dishes until it was her time to go out on the floor. Her floor time came up and she went out to do her duty. However, Kotori saw something that was rather perplexing, a high school girl sitting in the cafe by herself. The occasional female customer wasn't unusual, friends of the staff would sometimes come when their friend was on break, and sometimes they would order something as they hung out. But this girl was apparently here alone. Kotori went up to her and asked her what she wanted.

"Oh, the soup, please. Thank you!" she said, looking up from her book.

"Are you a friend of any of the staff?" she asked.

"Oh, no," she replied, clearly a bit nervous, "I-I'm just here because I love the soup and tea. The best in Akihabara!" She played with her hair as she laughed nervously. "Oh, okay," Kotori played it off normally. She was still a customer, after all, even if she thought the circumstances were unusual. The girl noticed that Kotori forget to follow protocol and call her, "Master," before she left. She tried to say something, but was too shy and embarrassed to do it.

Kotori walked towards the kitchen to file the order, walking past the manager, reading a magazine nonchalantly."Eh, Kotori-san-," she said, not lifting her eyes from the page.

"Oh," Kotori turned to her, "Yes, manager?"

"No questioning the customers, Kotori-san," she said, "You're not paid to conduct interviews."

"Oh," Kotori said, blushing from embarrassment. She bowed apologetically, "I'm sorry, manager. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah, yeah," the manager waved her away. "It's okay. Just remember for the future," she said cooly. The manager was always cool. Kotori nodded and walked away. She served the girl later, and this time kept any questions to herself. But still she was curious as to her business here. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants here that were more neutral and female appropriate. So, why did she come here? She wouldn't; unless she were... 

"Hey," she asked one of her coworkers as they closed up shop, "Did you notice that girl who was in here today who was sitting in the corner?"

"Yeah, I did. Why?"

"Do you think-," Kotori stalled, trying to find the most appropriate way to ask it, "-do you think that she is, well, um-"

"What?" another co-worker from across the locker room asked, overhearing the conversation. "Gay?"

Kotori blushed in embarrassment at the directness of the question, "Well, er, yeah," she replied, "Is she?"

Both of her co-workers nodded. "Yeah, of course she is! It's so obvious!" they smiled. "She's in here all the time. She thinks she hides it well, but it's obvious she comes here because she likes being served by maid girls. She checks us out, too, when she thinks we're not looking!" she said with a smug grin.

"Why do you ask, Kotori? Looking for a date?" they chuckled.

Kotori's face lit up at such a notion. "What? No, of course not!" she replied, "I was just curious, that's all!"

"Bi-curious…," they both chuckled.

"Knock it off! I am not! I'm just regularly curious!" They assured her they were just joking as she calmed down. "Still though, isn't that just so … weird? Like we're being checked out by the same sex?"

"Oh, if you think _that's_ weird, you haven't seen anything yet!"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

Both of them gave each other a snidey glance. "Oh," the maid next to Kotori said, "you'll see…"

Kotori was taken aghast, even as she went home. She _knew_ _of_ homosexuality and knew that it existed, she just never thought she would actually meet anyone who was gay in her own life. Although, she guessed if there was anywhere she would meet a gay person, it would be at a maid cafe.

She reflected on it and by the time she got home, she was more comfortable with the idea. Everyone goes through phases, she guessed. And she could understand how and why a girl would find another girl attractive, even seductive. She, after all, would be lying if she said that she never found any girls attractive herself. She collapsed onto her bad and thought about Honoka and Umi at that moment, and how stunningly beautiful they both were. How they didn't have any boys interested in them was a crime, she thought, not that she complained too much because if they spent more time on dates that would mean less beauty for Kotori to enjoy, a net loss for her. And she took a snide glance at them changing on more than one occasion, she admitted to herself. How could she not with two such amazingly beautiful girls such as them?

"Wait a minute," she said to the ceiling, "Does that mean that maybe I'm a …" she didn't say it. She rolled over onto her pillow. "No way! I'm just a little shook up from today. I'm not a lesbian! There's no way! It's perfectly normal to check out other girls! … I'm pretty sure!" But she wasn't sure. She looked up at her posters of her favorite idol groups, and noticed, as if for the first time, that they were all girl groups. Did she like any boy groups at all?

She tried not to let it distract her, for between school, practice, and an evening shift she didn't really have much time. So, she put it to the side for now. It was a ridiculous idea anyway! "I mean, yeah, I check out girls every so often and I like being around girls!" she said to herself again. "That doesn't mean I'm gay…" although the more and more Kotori thought about it, the gayer it seemed.

She arrived at the restaurant after practice, and began her tasks. As she settled into her routine, she began to feel more at ease, and her doubts and insecurities began to fade away once again. It was the magic of Akihabara working its way through her once again. She always felt at home here.

She called upon to serve a table at the far end of the restaurant, and waiting there for her was an adult woman of about maybe 30 to 35 years old, and Kotori felt a little unsettled again. "Eh?" she thought to herself. "Look at that woman. What is she doing here? Don't tell me that she's gay, too?"

Kotori didn't have time to fully think out her thought as she reached the table. "Ah, hello, Miss," Kotori said. She welcomed her to the cafe.

"Thank you. New staff?" she asked.

Kotori nodded, and asked her for her order. She wanted to ask her if maybe her daughter worked here or something just to make sure, but she remembered that she wasn't really allowed to question the customers.

"And the soup, please," the woman concluded her order. Kotori nodded and turned to walk away, but the woman called out to her.

"Um, excuse me, maid," she said, which made Kotori's spine tremble a little. She turned around, feeling a little nervous. "What is it, Miss?" she asked.

"Oh, it's not a big deal. You probably just forgot because you're new. But you're supposed to say like, "Yes, Mistress," before you walk away, and bow," the woman smiled nervously as she clutched the back of her head in an effort to relieve some of the burden. It worked a little.

Kotori blushed awkwardly at the thought of possibly sexually-entertaining an office lady. Nevertheless, it was the rules, and she had to abide by them. Just why does it have to be an older lady? She thought.

"Of course, Mistress. I apologize," she did her best to sound like a sincerely apologetic maid servant, "I will bring you your order as soon as possible." She stood up. The office lady was smiling, mostly happily, but also a bit awkwardly. "Thank you," she said, blushing herself, "That was much better."

Kotori didn't answer in words; only giving a terse bow herself this time before finally turning to walk to the kitchen. She was glowing red in awkwardness and confusion right now.

Once the order was filed, she tried to unwind a little by doing some more work. A group of high school boys came in and she served them. She also served a couple of older gentlemen that came in. All the while though, she couldn't avoid sneaking a few glances at the older woman in the corner. There was a mystique to her that Kotori couldn't shake. She used to think of the very idea of an older lady checking out some high schoolers to be absolutely perverted, but yet she didn't look like a pervert, at least not overtly. She just sat there and elegantly sipped her tea with only the slight occasional glance at a passing waitress from behind her cup. She appeared … vulnerable?

She sighed as she wiped the counter down. Her manager, keeping tally of today's earnings, sat beside her. She noticed her employee's demeanor. "What's wrong, Kotori-san? Busy today?"

"No," Kotori replied, "No. Nothing's the matter, Manager."

"Oh, well, you look a little glum today. Something on your mind?"

Kotori tried to shrug her off. "No, no, really," she insisted, "There's nothing the matter." She tried to perk up her wiping and smile to get her point across, but she wasn't fooling anyone.

"Talking about it might make you feel better," the manager insisted while still counting money. Kotori sighed again. "Well, if you think so, then…," she paused to think about her words. "It's-," she looked out over the counter toward where the woman was sitting, "It's just that woman there…"

"Hmmm," the boss looked towards the woman. "Ah yeah, I know her very well. She's one of our most loyal regulars."

"But don't you think that's weird!?" Kotori asked, as if kind of demanding to know. "I mean, a grown woman coming in here checking out high school girls!? That's just so bizarre!"

The boss leaned back. "Hmmm?" she mused, "No, not really! I mean, you wouldn't expect a lesbian woman to go and check out men…"

"Well, no, of course not!" Kotori replied. "But it's just…"

"Just what?" her boss asked in the middle of her pause.

"Well, like what if they try to seduce me or something?"

"Has anyone tried to do that to you?" asked Kotori's boss.

"Well, no," Kotori said.

"Have any of them asked anything unseemly of you?" the manager asked, she began to put the money down. "All you have to do is tell me and I'll kick them out of here-!"

"No! No!" Kotori waved her down. "They didn't at all! It's not a problem," Kotori said.

The manager, relieved, picked the money back up and started flipping through the stack again."Alright then," she said, "don't be stressed about it! Just let them have their fun."

Kotori looked off to the side. "I guess….," she said, "I don't know-"

"I can understand why you would think it's weird," the boss continued, "but don't judge them too harshly." The manager's voice went soft, and Kotori turned her attention back to her. "These women; they live rough lives. They can't be themselves wherever they go all their lives. They have to pretend to like boys to fit in at school and then when they're adults, they get into loveless marriages or have to hide their relationships. They risk being alienated by their families and friends. I mean, imagine that! What kind of a life is that?"

Kotori looked off at the woman again. "I couldn't even pretend to know what that would be like…"

"Imagine if one of your friends had to live such a life!"

Kotori did for both Honoka and Umi, and admitted the prospect was galling. While for Umi, the thought of her being a wife at all was a little funny for her, for Honoka especially it was truly depressing. The thought of her in a loveless marriage, having to hide herself, every day her natural smile and characteristic optimism being chipped away bit by bit; it was enough to bring tears to her eyes. "That does sound terrible," she muttered. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

The boss looked at her and smiled. "No need to apologize to me," she said. "Just treat these women with kindness and treat them the same as you would any male customer. Believe me, they need the fantasy more than any of us, I would imagine!"

Kotori brushed away her hidden tears, and smiled. "Okay!" The order was up and Kotori took it. She strided over to the office lady and delivered it to her.

"Here's your order, Miss, er, I mean, here's your request, mistress!" she bowed to her.

The lady smiled. "Thank you very much!"

"Would the mistress require anything else?" Kotori asked, with much greater sincerity this time.

"No, this is enough," the woman said as she shook her head. "Great work, thank you."

Kotori stood there for a little longer than was needed, as she worked out what to say. The woman noticed this and looked up from her dish.

"It's alright, really," she insisted, misjudging the situation, "I have everything I need-"

"I, uh-," Kotori unwittingly interrupted her, "I just wanted to apologize earlier...for my mistake! I didn't understand-"

The woman looked up at her, and smiled. "There's no need to apologize," she replied. "You're still new. You'll get the hang of it!"

Kotori smiled back. "Mmmmm," she nodded, "I will!" she said excitedly. "I'll work very hard!"

And she did. From that moment forward, the Maid Minalinsky worked harder than ever, and worked extra hard for the female customers regardless of age. When treating the high school girls or the office ladies, she made sure to smile just a little wider, or bow a little lower for them. And they appreciated her all the more for it. More and more she received requests for service, prompting some jokes from her co-workers. Kotori just laughed them off, though, and didn't let them hinder her performance. It was after this that she began to notice her reputation as the "Legendary Maid Minalinsky," but whether these two trends were related, Kotori didn't even care to guess. For her, it wasn't about reputation or her status, it was just about helping people feel a little better.

That's what she thought about as she walked home that night. That's what Akihabara is all about: finding yourself, getting new perspectives, and feeling a little better than you did when you arrived. As a worker in Akihabara, it was now her own responsibility to live up to that sacred task, even if other people may not take it as seriously as herself. It was too important, in her own opinion, to not take seriously. For Kotori, what Akihabara meant to her was the meaning of life itself. She smiled sincerely as she walked home, knowing this to be true. Knowing that today, she discovered more about herself and bettered herself as well. She had made someone's day easier and, as a result, she made her own day easier. She felt more whole and more worry-free. She went home, and, with all doubt in her mind silenced, pounded her pussy to the thought of having a threesome with Honoka and Umi, and she wouldn't have given a shit if the entire world had known.


End file.
